Problem With Steam

I am logged in and everything...its been about a month since I last played anything on Steam and for some reason when I go to play, lets say Monkey Island, its not loading...a steam update window comes up and then nothing...I am still consulting the help Steam has to offer so i'm just wondering if anyone else has encountered such a problem.

Try deleting the clientregistry.blob file.
That's what I hate about Steam. The authentication it has to perform all the time.