As far as I can tell, the "blank" dates on the calendar just mean there are no birthdays or events on that day.

To answer another common topic here, Beta testing can be fairly short or VERY long. It just all depends on how many glitches the testers find that have to be fixed.

Finally, Carla has already stated that the game will be "soft released" here first. That means we who are active forum members will have 1st chance to grab it up! I personally check the home page each day to see if it's available yet! Don't worry! I'm sure if you check the forums daily, like many of us, that you will know exactly what day it is available! It will be the hottest topic in the forums that day!