Some help for a noob

[ima_nerd]

Also, is it me or is raising the mining skill really slow and tedious? I'm almost lvl 18 and my skinning is in the mid-100s, but mining is like 20. Granted I only started using the mining thingie on my map 2 days ago, but still seems way too slow. Any good places for this? Also, I need a Forge to turn metals into bars? Where are the forges? Major towns?
How do I swap weapons from melee to ranged? Is it simply dragging the ranged icon to the toolbar? What about different melee setups like duals and 2-handers.

Lastly are Deadmines tough for my level? Also, I saw something that allowed me to get to a que to get to the Deadmines. What exactly is that?

There are pairs of Elves walking/standing around in Stormwind that ask me to go somewhere for some weird quest. What is that quest and is it easily abandoned?

That's a long list. I started with just 1 question, heh.

Yes, mining is quite tedious to level up.

You can equip the range weapons in the range weapon slot on your Character screen. When you hit P and bring up your skill book, there will be a Shoot Gun/Bow/Crossbow or a Throw (for throwing knives and the like) in the first tab. Drag that onto a toolbar to use it.

Deadmines, in my opinion, is better experienced at level 20 or so, especially if you're tanking. Remember to use Sunder Armor and whip out a shield to tank :D The queue is something put in awhile ago that will automaically group you with other people that are also in the queue. It's pretty much useless. Just spam LFG DM in Westfall and you'll find a group.

I have no idea about the Elves.