Don't worry, many of us seem to go through the same maddening thing. One thing I can add about my case is that the VO in Tokyo has had our application since May 17 and only now sent the AOR. The AOR also said that they aim to complete the review within six months of "receipt". I'm hoping against hope that that's six months from May 17 but who knows.
It's a nonsensical and aggravating way of running an immigration department. It makes Japan's system look downright perfect - when I arrived in Japan with my "Engineer's" visa I could have health care and start working right away. It was a two month process. That said, PR was a 5 or 10 year process, but who cares when you can already live, work, and travel from the country....
