Roses

I received a rose plant today as a gift and I have absolutely and totally no idea how to take care of it besides watering the thing. I did a basic search and it seems that people are growing them but there aren't threads dedicated strictly to rose care. Any advice for this newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Roses prefer an acidic soil (and aphids love 'em).

Once established, they seem to love a heavy pruning:
I had a friend who had a bunch of roses at the house he just bought. After the blooming season, he cut everything to within 6-8" of the ground. The next season, his yard looked like the rose capital of the world!

Rion, do you know what kind of rose it is? For eg, climbers and bush roses require very different pruning.
Whatever it is, I agree with John: they thrive on really heavy pruning.
Some old roses are really unfussy with soil and water, but some of the more modern cultivars can be quite demanding ('modern' can be pretty old as far as roses are concerned...)
All roses that I know of need a fair amount of sun to bloom well.
In NZ, roses are generally underplanted with plants that look ok in the rose's 'off season', so you don't just have a bunch of sticks for half the year

where are you located?

roses here in florida have bad fungal problems, and frequently need spraying. that's why i only have one. and it looks awful.

Lol, it is a small dwarf rose. The generic kind that florists sell as holiday gifts. Thanks for the advice because I do want to see how big it will get after being replanted. I tell you what though...this little thing has sparked my interest. I guess I am headed down the path of creating a flower garden. Oh, I am in NWPA. We get a lot of precipitation so I will have to watch out for disease on the rose.