Michael - I really try to avoid giving advice on this forum so I'm just going to tell you what I did. My problem was more advanced than yours but it's still the same problem. After years of trying to quit without making a big deal out of it I finally sat my husband down and explained to him that I know I am an alcoholic and that I can't have just one drink. I signed him up to support me in not drinking at all. I've got almost a month of sobriety in now and some of the things that have helped me are my husband abstaining too (for the time being, I don't expect him to quit forever), staying away from people/places where there will be drinking, checking into this forum and reading/posting at least twice a day. I have finally come to understand that there is no such thing as drinking in moderation for me. If I ever drink again I will get drunk and will have to repeat this whole process - and right now I believe that it just isn't worth it. Drinking does nothing for me - what I used to perceive as pleasure is now just the beginning of pain.
On your birthday you might try not to think of it as a test but rather as giving yourself the huge gift of being sober.