I have been using vim for quite some time and am aware that selecting blocks of text in visual mode is as simple as SHIFT+V and moving the arrow key up or
v35G will select everything from the cursor up to line 35.
v35G
v puts you in select mode, 35 specifies the line number that you want to G go to.
v
35
G
You could also use v} which will select everything up to the beginning of the next paragraph.
v}