Good for you Flygal4!
Being certified to dive is always a good skill to have in your bag of tricks. Knowing how to do it well and safely makes it that much more enjoyable.
2) I can take up to a month off work. How many dives can I log, realistically, if money was no issue and I wanted to eat sleep dive repeat? As in, do you think I can go from zero certification to logging 60 open water dives in a month or am I an idiot?
I don't think logging 60 open water dives in a month is unrealistic at all.
I would suggest you think about a liveaboard. An average 10 night trip aboard our boat offers 28-32 dives, that's based on about 4 dives a day when not transiting (hiking, seeing Komodo dragons...etc) and some liveaboards offer 5 dives a day. Dive liveaboards allow you to maximize your dive time. Since the mothership moves you to the next dive site you have very little transfer time sitting in a tender suited up, and never have to fight the waves from shore dives. Most liveaboards (in Indonesia anyway) change out your gear between dives so you have plenty of time in between dives to have nice long surface intervals relaxing, eating your meal, taking photos, going to the beach excursion or snorkeling. In addition to that, you wake up at in a different location every day, with spectacular ocean views. And because the liveaboard can cover distances, you usually have many different types of dive site to choose from.
There is no reason you can't do 2 liveaboards, back to back and see 2 widely different areas, divers do it all the time. Or a liveaboard and a land based resort. This will show you many different types of diving (wreck, muck, reef, big fish...etc) and you can decide which you like best.
If this is the route you take make sure you find an operator that can take time with you and has a good instructor onboard, that speaks your language. Or if money isn't an issue, bring your own, or have the operator hire a private guide for you.
Also, that many dives can take it's toll on your ears. Keep them clean and dry after each dive, I use my own mix of swimmers ear. And make sure you stay hydrated, it's by far the biggest problem we see.
Wherever you choose to go have a wonderful time.
Best Fishes!