DataDan
Mama says he's bona fide
That's a good summary.So: Practice off the road to get the physical down and then practice the mental for the rest of your life. CMSP and other basic courses give the physical and initial inklings of the mental. The tests are pretty much all about the physical.
The basic techniques need continuous attention when you're a noob. For example, countersteering: Consciously press on the bar in the direction you want to go EVERY TIME you change direction. Lane change, gentle curve, pulling into a parking space--no exceptions. It is by conscious application of the technique in the beginning that it becomes an unconscious response. Eventually, your brain thinks, "wanna go left" and it just happens. Thanks to imprinting of the skill, it didn't have to fill in: "so I guess I need to press on the left bar." Same with using your eyes to lead the way and progressively squeezing the front brake to stop.
As control of the bike becomes automatic, you have more bandwidth available to understand the road and traffic. That, of course, is the hard part of motorcycling. There's lots of discussion about those topics on BARF (see some of the 1Rider threads). You mentioned that you've ordered Proficient Motorcycling--an excellent resource. Another book by David Hough that I like is called Street Rider's Guide. It is a collection of nearly 100 two-page vignettes on problem situations and solutions (e.g., "Right-Turn Reprobates", "Stale Signals", and "Midtown Mayhem"). The book linked is an update of his earlier Street Strategies, with more entries and much better illustrations.
May you enjoy a million happy miles on a motorcycle.