Good stuff, even if I don't rank up there with Brian & Steve!

Seriously though, I think you did a pretty good job of building and executing a plan as best you could with a lot of unknowns. The one thing I would add is that in general the first real SQL job should not be a long term job. Spend 1-3 years to learn the ropes and give back some value in return for them hiring you, then it move on to a new job where you can most likely earn more money and get a new set of challenges. Many people that that first big break and start thinking "I've arrived!" and wind up with a lot of gaps in their skills. Changing jobs, or attempting to, will expose those gaps in a hurry.