Doesn't that make you wonder what other "known issues" these paid tools have that they never tell you about?

Man, the desk itself was the whole game changer for me. First thing I did was get the monitor up off the surface on an arm, because hunching over a laptop for hours was wrecking my neck. After that I put a power strip on the back of the desk and zip tied the cables down so nothing moves when I slide stuff around. The rack space came last and honestly I wish I'd done it sooner, it kills all the clutter. Sounds like you did it right going with solid lumber instead of particle board junk.

A pothos surviving being ignored isn't exactly breaking news, those things could grow in a dark closet with zero water. Not sure one summer in Texas really proves we're all overwatering everything, you just happened to pick the one plant that refuses to die. Your calatheas dropping leaves was probably them being calatheas, not some big lesson about tough love.