Well first off congratulations on a very good position to be in. If I can offer one piece of advice, don't worry too much about your timeline, since you seem to have lots of time anyway. Set yourself small goals and see if you can hit them. I wouldn't be surprised if you could put out a nice 30s - 1min short film at the end of a year. Don't aim for a 10+ minute project right away, you'll just get frustrated. What do you want out of this? Is it just for "hobbying"? If so, again, don't worry about where you are at, and just enjoy the process. If you want to get into the industry, well that will probably take several years unless you are really dedicated and fortunate. Good luck! We'll be here to answer questions and help out.

If you've got the money, get a lifetime membership here, it doesn't expire. And DT is great too IMO.