old_contents: from datetime import datetime
  from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
  
  from base10.exceptions import DialectError
  
  
  class Metric(object):
      def __init__(self, name, fields, metadata, **kwargs):
          self._name = name
          self._fields = fields
          self._metadata = metadata
  
          if 'time' in self._fields:
              self._fields.remove('time')
  
          self._verify_and_store(kwargs)
  
      def _verify_and_store(self, values):
          timestamp = values.pop('time', self._current_timestamp())
  
          if sorted(self._fields + self._metadata) != sorted(values.keys()):
              raise NameError('Expected {} but got {}'.format(
                  sorted(self._fields + self._metadata),
                  sorted(values.keys())
                  ))
  
          self._values = values
          self._values['time'] = timestamp
  
      def _current_timestamp(self):
          return int((datetime.utcnow() - datetime(1970, 1, 1)).total_seconds()
                     * 1000)
  
      @property
      def name(self):
          return self._name
  
      @property
      def fields(self):
          return self._fields
  
      @property
      def metadata(self):
          return self._metadata
  
      @property
      def values(self):
          return self._values
  
      def __repr__(self):
          return '<Metric:"{}" Fields:{} Metadata:{} Values:{}>'.format(
                  self.name,
                  self.fields,
                  self.metadata,
                  self.values)
  
  
  class Dialect(object):
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      def from_string(self, string):
          raise DialectError('Attempt to read with a write-only dialect')
  
      def to_string(self, metric):
          raise DialectError('Attempt to write with a read-only dialect')
  
  
  class Reader(object):
      __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
  
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      @abstractmethod
      def read(self):
          pass
  
  
  class Writer(object):
      __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
  
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      @abstractmethod
      def write(self, string):
          pass
  
new_contents: from time import time
  from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
  
  from base10.exceptions import DialectError
  
  
  class Metric(object):
      def __init__(self, name, fields, metadata, **kwargs):
          self._name = name
          self._fields = fields
          self._metadata = metadata
  
          if 'time' in self._fields:
              self._fields.remove('time')
  
          self._verify_and_store(kwargs)
  
      def _verify_and_store(self, values):
          timestamp = values.pop('time', self._current_timestamp())
  
          if sorted(self._fields + self._metadata) != sorted(values.keys()):
              raise NameError('Expected {} but got {}'.format(
                  sorted(self._fields + self._metadata),
                  sorted(values.keys())
                  ))
  
          self._values = values
          self._values['time'] = timestamp
  
      def _current_timestamp(self):
          return time() * 1000
  
      @property
      def name(self):
          return self._name
  
      @property
      def fields(self):
          return self._fields
  
      @property
      def metadata(self):
          return self._metadata
  
      @property
      def values(self):
          return self._values
  
      def __repr__(self):
          return '<Metric:"{}" Fields:{} Metadata:{} Values:{}>'.format(
                  self.name,
                  self.fields,
                  self.metadata,
                  self.values)
  
  
  class Dialect(object):
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      def from_string(self, string):
          raise DialectError('Attempt to read with a write-only dialect')
  
      def to_string(self, metric):
          raise DialectError('Attempt to write with a read-only dialect')
  
  
  class Reader(object):
      __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
  
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      @abstractmethod
      def read(self):
          pass
  
  
  class Writer(object):
      __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
  
      def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
          pass
  
      @abstractmethod
      def write(self, string):
          pass
  
subject: Change to the quicker time() function