I don't think the the two endpoints are that big of a deal. I know where I want to start selecting, so I can just navigate there and then expand the selection

I don't think the the two endpoints are that big of a deal. I know where I want to start selecting, so I can just navigate there and then expand the selection in one direction only. This is how it works with vi anyway, only you can't really expand the selection after the fact. In the rare case case when I miss the mark, I wouldn't mind pressing an extra key to move the cursor to the other end of the selection and expand from there. And yeah I feel that dissatisfaction too.