I'm in a pretty similar situation as the OP. I went to a job fair recently and one of the people who spoke (head of hiring at a major) was talking about competitive mins and said they understand that a few regionals, specifically "Horizon and ExpressJet" have very long upgrades and it's okay if those FOs don't have any TPIC. IMHO, as senior FOs, we should keep our apps updated, go to job fairs, network, do a little volunteer work (gasp!), keep flying, enjoy the good schedule, and stop worrying about how far away the upgrade is. Don't get bitter, because it will come across in the interview and it will hurt your chances of getting hired elsewhere.