@k aiken- here you go

@K Aiken- would you please provide a screenshot of your subterranean mines? I haven't yet reached the point of building my second pyramid, but I would like to prepare. Thanks!

I guess (since I've been a gamer for years), I was fortunate in knowing to build temples & upgrade the palace & move mines closer to the pyramid as I amassed more & more farms & homes... meaning that I had already upgraded everything before it became a "quest" for me to achieve. However, that preparation hasn't changed the fact that once the "362,880 blocks" quest hit me, it took nearly 2 weeks to get all the necessary blocks... and that included using some of my gold AND PD. Basically, the bottom line is that I agree it takes too freakin long to achieve quests if you weren't prepared for them.