Okay ladies. I'm moving on from hats and scarves to try my first bag. But first some questions...

1. The pattern says to cast on 30 stitches, do not join, then knit 25 rows (13 ridges). Do I count the cast on row as the first row? Or knit 25 in addition to that? Is the cast on row counted as a ridge?

2. Is the side facing me when I cast on considered the RS? So the RS would have the cast on tail on the bottom of the left needle?

Sorry if these are obvious questions. I have never seen this addressed in any books though. Thanks!

Not sure about the answer to #1, but the answer to #2 depends on your cast-on method, I think. I use long-tail almost all the time, and I know that it creates a row of knitting, so the first row you work once you have cast on should be a purl row. So the side facing you after cast on would be the wrong side.