Learn English – Does “as long as” here mean the common known meaning of “as long as”

In the second paragraph ("I want to see the world, and that I will!") the meaning is: "I am very determined to do much travel and see the world." The "and that I will!" fragment could be re-written as "and I am very certain that I can ensure that this will occur through my efforts!"

In the last paragraph ("who can appreciate sarcasm and dish it right back") the meaning is: "I like the use of sarcasm and I use it myself, particularly when directed at me."

"Read" as a noun refers to something you read, a reading material such as a book, newspaper, article. "A long read" is idiomatic, and so are a couple other noun phrases of "read":

That book is such a page turner. It is an interesting read/a good read/a must read.

As you can easily guess, "an interesting read" is something that is interesting to read; "a good read" is a good book/paper etc.; "a must read" is something recommended to you highly.