Thanks for your reply. I'm normally very patient with things in general but for some reason this whole AV process just got to me.
Optix was actually the one that responded to my PM and we're in the process of setting up a meeting sometime soon. He was kind enough to let me know his schedule so the only thing left is to set it up and see it through.
I try to be as pro-active as possible but this is still taking too long to do.... sigh. The price to pay to get into this hobby, I suppose.