Or you could do what I did:

(1) At time of Rez (1 week before flight) airport seat assignment only. No more advance seats.

(2) 1 day later, a middle seat opens up, and I am automatically assigned to it (or was it my idiot travel agent?)

(2) At 96 hour mark (EXP upgrades clear), I assigned myself an exit row middle seat. At least I will have some legroom if I'm going to be stuck in a middle seat.

(3) At 72 hour mark, I give up the extra legroom snag an aisle seat near the front.

(4) At 24 hour mark, I finally snag an exit row aisle seat. And surprised to find that they actually recline on MD-80s.