35 Druid - need suggestions

[beev]

I played p99 about 2 years ago and got a Druid to 35. Now I'm back and completely rusty trying to get back up to speed.

Any other players have tips/suggestions on a few things like:

Charming in Overthere - what spells should I have mem'd? Should I only be using my charmed animal against other animals or sic them on cacti and those birds? I feel I'm not efficient as I burn through a whole mana bar on those two mobs.

What user interface should I get? Never actually used a different one than comes stock.
Do most people use a 3rd party map utility these days?
Doe anyone suggest using the spell timer utilities based on log files so you know if ensnare or charm breaks?

Money - should I try to just port for donations from Overthere or are hill giants in rathe a viable option for both money and exp? If I do fight hill giants, should I be kiting or root rotting?

Thank you in advance for your help!