ufa Mae Quinto, 25, started her career as a teenybopper in "That's Entertainment." She was 17. Showbiz was not really in her dreams or plans.

"Lola ko kasi ang nagpapaaral sa akin," she explains. "Nag-honor-student pa ako noon, e. Kaso, siyempre, pag high school ka alam mo na, dib a? -natututo kang gumimik. Nagbabaan ang grades ko. Natakot… Actually, hindi takot, e. It's more of, nahiya ako sa lola ko. Hindi ko alam kung paano ko sasabihin sa kanya. Kaya ang ginawa kong rason, nag-audition ako. Which is, nag-audition na nga muna rin talaga ako, para at least, matanggap o hindi, puwede ko siyang idahilan."

Of course, we know that happened. Not long after her stint with "That's," she was placed under contract by Viva Films-where she remains a contract star-and introduced in the sex comedy Gloria Labandera opposite Jay Manalo.

It was in Gloria that director Joyce Bernal, then a film editor, saw that Rufa Mae Quinto had what it takes to be a sexy comic actress. "Doon pa lang, sabi niya, nagustuhan niya ako," Rufa Mae recalls.

Joyce came up with a character named Booba, whose name is a play on boba, or dumb, and boobs, which happen to be Rufa Mae's most outstanding physical attributes. Unfortunately, the producers weren't biting. "Noong pinresent niya sa Viva, ayaw. Siyempre kasi, as producer, wala pa naman talaga silang nilo-launch na komedyanteng babae na ganoon ang concept. Hindi nila pinansin."

So Rufa Mae had to content herself with being leading lady to action stars or lending support to bigger stars.

But when Joyce Bernal turned to directing and started churning out one box-office hit after another-I'm Sorry, My Love with Judy Ann Santos; Hey Babe with Jolina Magdangal; Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw with Regine Velasquez-Viva's top guns became more receptive to the Booba concept.

It was 2001, Rufa Mae was 21, and she was thinking it was time she had a solo movie. "Sabi ko, make or break na ito. Kung hindi mag-click, siguro hanggang doon na lang talaga kaya kong gawin. Para alam ko na, hindi ba? Itodo na, kumbaga. E, nag-hit siya, awa ng Diyos."

The TV offers followed. Now she has three shows on the boob tube-"Bubble Gang," "Idol Ko Si Kap," and "S.O.P Rules," all on GMA-7

With eight years of hard work behind her, she decided to give herself a gift-a house of her own in an exclusive village in Quezon City. The five-bedroom house, which she calls "bahay ni Boobita," is not entirely new: "Binili ko na yari na, ganito na talaga ang structure." She has been renovating and repainting it since last year.

Moving in, which she did very recently, was a pretty tedious undertaking, especially since she was then in the process of finishing the movie Masikip Sa Dibdib: Ang Tunay na Buhay ni Boobita Rose.

"Ang hirap maglipat! Nakakaloka! Nakakapagod! Pero sulit, lalo noong nagdatingan na ang mga gamit. Nakita mong nabuo na siya sa ayos na gusto mo."

Motif and décor, she claims, were all her own. "May tumutulong din sa akin, pero ako pa rin ang namimili, at habang inilalagay, nakabantay ako," she laughs. "Pakialamera nga kasi ako."

And why not? It's her house, after all. And she's your regular scratch-and-scrub lady during her very rare days off from showbiz. "Galit ako sa dumi, e," she smiles.

Like many new homeowners, Rufa Mae is addicted to nonstop reconstruction and remodeling.

"Ang dami ko pang gusting ipaayos, ipadagdag, ipatanggal. Like 'yong isang room, gusto kong gawing opisina. Kaso wala akong time. Ang hirap pag di mo nababantayan. Gaya noong telephone line sa may dining room. 'Nilagay iyon, wala ako, kaya ayun, inikot na lang basta sa pinto. And sagwa! Titingnan n'yo akong ganito, mabusisi ako."

By the way, Rufa Mae will soon be needing an office. That's because she's poised to go into line production.

"Minsan kasi, pag artista ka lang, marami kang gusto na hindi mo magawa sa isang project. Nakakahiya namang makialam, hindi ba? Saka, gusto ko kasing makatulong kahit papaano, sa mga crew, ganyan. Siyempre, pag may project ako, kukuha ako ng tao, may makikinabang, hindi ba?"

Wow. This Boobita sure makes a lot of sense.

Hallway
This hallway leads to the main door that leads to the garage. Behind the wall on the left side is the master bedroom. The door on the right leads to a sunken rest room.

Foyer
Books on interior decoration have helped Rufa. She copies her place, such as the layout of this supposedly empty space separating kitchen form corridor that leads to the main door.

Living Room
Rufa-who's called Peachy by close friends-likes things neat and tidy. That's why she prefers white and beige, with just little accents of brown, as the dominant color at home. Asked where she bought her furniture, she says: "Diyan lang, sa tabi-tabi. Kung ano magustuhan. Pakonti-konti, bumibili ako." What about the paintings? "Wa na chika tungkol sa artists, wa ko knows," she giggles. "Basta noong nakita ko ang mga 'yan, nagustuhan ko, okey? Oy, mahal 'yan, a! Mahal pala mga paintings?"

Bathroom
Rufa likes how her bathroom comes out in the Polaroid. "Wow, mukhang sosyal! Mukhang mayaman!" She was hands-on when the bathroom was built. "Kasa-kasama ako noong binili 'yan. Haggang sa ikinakabit, bumabantay ako, kasi baka mamaya, pag nayari, hindi ko gusto… Kaya lang, ayan, noong mayari, halos hindi ko naman nagagamit kasi lagi akong wala sa bahay o kaya nagmamadali."

The huge close directly opposite the master bedroom's bathroom turns out to be the repository of Rufa's 300-plus pairs of shoes and sandals. "Wala dito 'yong iba," she tells us. "Nasa ibang lagayan. Ang nandito 'yong mga signatures." By that, she means Prada, Dior, Gucci, YSL, Ferragamo, Versace, bebe, etc. "May mga katerno pa 'yang bags, katago din," she adds. It took Rufa some 30 minutes to prepare these for the pictorial, as she tried to decide how best to arrange them: "Ano kaya maganda-by tatak, by kind, or by color?" She finally settled on color.

Bedroom
Rufa loves it when you say her whole house, not just her room, looks and feels like a hotel. "Talaga?" 'Yon kasi talaga ang ina-achieve ko. Kasi mahilig ako sa hotel, e"

Dining Room
The huge window panels give a relaxing view of the pool area. Notice the potted bamboo plant in the corner? Rufa says that's for good luck. "Suwerte raw kasi pag may plants sa bahay." But that's plastic, we point out. "Ha, e… Okey na 'yan. Hindi ba pareho epek noon? E, kasi naman ang hirap mag-maintain ng totoo. Namamatay agad."- -